The Winter Garden

by Heidi Swain

  I was still buzzing when we waved them all off, and I wasn’t the only one. The group had all swapped numbers and email addresses as we worked out when they could come and collect their leaves, and they were all planning to meet up on a monthly basis, either in the garden, or somewhere a little further afield to keep their nature connections topped up.

  ‘I don’t think that could possibly have gone any better, do you?’ beamed Lisa, after we had walked everyone back to the garden gate.

  ‘It was amazing,’ I agreed. ‘And,’ I yawned, ‘absolutely not worth the sleepless night spent worrying about it. I loved it.’

  ‘I hope my session goes as well as yours,’ said Carole, when I went back to the kitchen to collect my key which Chloe had dropped off.

  ‘I’m sure it will, Carole,’ I told her. ‘I’m tired out from today, but I’m really looking forward to it.’

  She had got me enthused when she explained that she was going to show everyone how to scale recipes down as well as up and I was looking forward to making my own pudding the next day, even if it most likely wouldn’t last until Christmas because I wouldn’t be able to resist it. Not that that really mattered because I could always make another one.

  My job had always meant that I stayed on the slim side, but living now in such close proximity to Carole and Blossom’s Bakery I wasn’t sure I would be the same svelte shape for much longer.

  ‘It’s going to be a busy day,’ she said, ‘that’s for sure.’

  I knew she was even more organised than Lisa and I had been and that she would be keeping everyone on their toes and sticking tightly to the schedule. I’d bet good money that she hadn’t underestimated anything, like I had. Thank goodness for Finn’s act of kindness.

  ‘Are you staying for the debrief?’ Carole asked as she handed me my keys. ‘Luke said it will be quick so I can get things set up in here.’

  ‘To be honest,’ I told her, stifling yet another yawn, ‘I just want a long, hot bath and an early night, but I’ll hang on. It will be useful to share our experience from today, won’t it?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ she agreed, ‘and Luke will really appreciate it. He’s been like an expectant father all day.’

  ‘Has he?’ I laughed. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen him.’

  ‘He’s been trying to stay out of the way,’ she grinned. ‘He didn’t want you and Lisa thinking that he was looking over your shoulder, but he’s been about, believe me!’

  I left her chuckling and went to fetch Nell, who I knew would be more relaxed among people she knew.

  There were just a few of us gathered for the ‘debrief’ as Carole had named it, but it went on longer than expected because Luke had arranged delivery of a Chinese takeaway for everyone to share. Lisa, John and their brood were there, along with Carole and Graham, and even Heather popped in, to say how much she’d enjoyed taking part. It was good to get another perspective on the day, and Lisa and I were both delighted it was being heralded such a success.

  ‘Would you consider running it again?’ asked Kate as she passed me a bag of mini spring rolls and a lager.

  ‘Definitely,’ Lisa and I said together.

  ‘So, how did it go?’

  Everyone’s eyes swung to the door and the hulking great figure looming there.

  ‘Finn,’ I beamed, before I could stop myself.

  Without his help, the afternoon would have been tricky for me to pull off, but his generosity and quick thinking had saved the day.

  ‘Like a dream,’ said Lisa.

  ‘Excellent,’ he nodded. ‘Graham, I’ve stacked a load of logs by the back door. I know you wanted to fill the baskets again and that’ll save your back a bit.’

  Crikey, he was sprinkling magic everywhere. It really was a shame that we couldn’t seem to get along for five minutes together because this version of him was rather wonderful.

  ‘Come in,’ said Luke, pulling out a chair, ‘and help us out with some of this food. I think I might have over-ordered.’

  ‘Sorry,’ he said, ‘I can’t. I’m expected somewhere and I’m already running late.’

  He did look very smart in a collarless, linen shirt and black jeans.

  ‘In that case,’ I said, jumping up, ‘let me give you this now, before I forget.’

  I handed him the ten-pound note from my phone and tried not to stare at the collarbone and little bit of his chest that I could see where the shirt wasn’t done all the way up. He smelt wonderful too and I realised that, wherever he was headed, he’d made an effort to look his best.

  ‘Is it enough?’ I swallowed, secretly hoping he wasn’t going on a date, even though I knew I shouldn’t have cared.

  ‘Ample,’ he smiled. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘No, thank you,’ I smiled back, quickly returning to my seat and away from his seductive scent. ‘You really saved the day.’

  ‘Getting paid for services rendered now, are you, lad?’ John quipped and everyone laughed.

  ‘Something like that,’ he laughed back, meeting my eye for just the briefest moment. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I better be off. See you all tomorrow.’

  ‘Bye,’ everyone called after him.

  ‘Don’t be late,’ Carole added.

  ‘I can’t wait to see him in an apron,’ giggled Lisa and I realised that he had signed up for the baking session too. ‘He’s going to cause quite a stir, isn’t he?’

  ‘The only thing he’ll be stirring is his pudding mix,’ tutted Carole disapprovingly. ‘Now, eat your chow mein. I want to get cleared up in here in a minute.’

  I finished my last few mouthfuls of special fried rice and mulled over the session to come. If Finn and I were going to be ensconced in close proximity in a hot kitchen all day, then our freshly formed truce was most likely going to get pretty stirred up too!

  Chapter 20

  It was just as well that Carole’s cake and pudding session wasn’t reliant on the weather because the next day was nowhere near as sunny and bright as the Saturday had been. In fact, I couldn’t help thinking that the sky had that yellowy, grey kind of tint to it, the one that usually heralded snow, but none was forecast.

  ‘I’ll see you later,’ I told Nell, who I couldn’t take with me, for obvious reasons. ‘I’ll come back at lunchtime.’

  She huffed in response and I tried not to feel guilty as I locked up and then gasped in surprise as I turned from the door to find Chloe on the path.

  ‘Crikey, you gave me a fright,’ I scolded. ‘What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be paddling in the icy North Sea today?’

  ‘I was,’ she shrugged, ‘but there’s been a change of plan. Hannah’s been asked to work an extra shift and the weather’s not all that great anyway, so I’ve asked Carole if she has room for a little one.’

  ‘And does she?’

  ‘Yes,’ Chloe grinned, linking her arm through mine. ‘So, you’re going to have to help me out, because I could burn a cup of tea!’

  I had been looking forward to the day already, but having Chloe there would make it really fun.

  ‘You know Finn’s coming too, don’t you?’ I said.

  ‘No,’ she giggled, ‘I didn’t. My goodness, I wonder what he’ll look like in an apron?’

  Pretty damn good, we soon discovered when we arrived at Prosperous Place and found him in the kitchen, acting as Carole’s competent sous chef. Chloe looked at me and raised her eyebrows.

  ‘That hair though,’ she murmured dreamily, and I felt pleased that she and Hannah had got together because had they not, then her rapt expression would have awoken my green-eyed emotions again. ‘Tied back like that,’ she carried on, ‘you can really appreciate his bone structure, can’t you?’

  ‘All right,’ I told her. ‘That’ll do. It’s going to get hot enough in here as it is, without you cranking up the temperature before we’ve even started.’

  Had I filled her in on how soft yet firm Finn’s lips felt at close quarters and how the tips of his fingers could elicit enou
gh electricity to light every Christmas tree in Norwich, she would have swooned on the spot. Fortunately, I’d kept that knowledge to myself, so we weren’t in trouble on that front, but her observations about him had warmed me up a bit.

  We went to stand behind our places at the table – which were helpfully named – and waited for everyone else to arrive. Like yesterday, there were ten spots in total, but unlike yesterday everyone who filed in looked pretty serious. With the exception of one older gentleman, it was all women, including Sara from the day before, who gave me a little wave.

  ‘Crikey,’ Chloe whispered, ‘this lot look at bit competitive, don’t they?’

  ‘Right,’ said Carole, making me stand up a little straighter as I began to wonder what I’d let myself in for, ‘welcome, everyone. We might be a week late for stir-up Sunday, but I can promise you that by the end of today, you’ll all have a wonderful cake to take home and ice as well as a delicious pudding to celebrate the season with.’

  A loud sniff from one woman drew my attention and I felt Carole bristle in response.

  ‘Who do you reckon the woman with the too heavily sprayed hair is?’ Chloe hissed as we took our turn at the sink to wash our hands.

  ‘I can tell you who she is,’ said Finn, who had crept up behind us.

  Perhaps he wasn’t a god after all, rather one of Tolkien’s light-footed elves. I focused on my hand hygiene while my sense of smell was again hijacked by his aromatic and arousing aftershave.

  ‘Who?’ demanded Chloe.

  ‘That’s Daphne Pemberton,’ he said, bending low so his breath almost tickled my ear.

  He wasn’t the only one who had had to tie their hair up and my ears and neck felt exposed and not at all prepared for the gentle caress of his hushed tones.

  ‘She’s Carole’s baking nemesis at the local Women’s Institute. From what I can make out, there’s a far from friendly rivalry between them.’

  ‘Oh goodie,’ beamed Chloe. ‘This’ll be fun.’

  Had it been anyone else, I would have felt sorry for them, but I knew that Carole’s recipes, techniques and end results were top-notch, so she had nothing to worry about and I didn’t feel at all guilty as I eagerly agreed with Chloe’s summation of the situation.

  ‘Come on, you three,’ Carole’s voice now rang out. ‘We’ve lots to do and a schedule to stick to.’

  Chastened, we hurried back to our spaces and began the wonderful alchemy of turning ingredients into food heaven.

  As promised, Carole scaled her recipes both down and up. I opted to make three mini puddings as well as her speedy Christmas cake which would bake in a couple of hours, while the puddings cooked in a tray of water in the oven and would need to be heated in the same way again when I wanted to eat them.

  Just as I had predicted it was soon hot and busy, with everyone doing different things at different times to make sure we all had a spot at both the hob and in the oven. It could have been chaos, but Carole was everywhere and, I was delighted to note, had a ready answer for everything Daphne threw at her, which was quite a lot.

  ‘That smell though,’ Chloe sighed dreamily.

  I wasn’t sure if she was referring to Finn’s aftershave or the heady mix of fruit, spices, citrus, brandy and chestnuts. The latter combination was playing havoc with my tummy which was rumbling again, in spite of the breakfast I had provided it with, and when Finn leant between us to set down the teas and coffees he had helpfully made, the addition of his own seductive scent almost tipped me over the edge.

  ‘Any special requests?’ he asked, his voice close again.

  ‘I can think of a few,’ Chloe smiled.

  ‘I meant for music,’ Finn told her. ‘I’m going to play some festive tunes.’

  ‘I know,’ said Chloe, swaying a little, ‘that’s what I meant too.’

  ‘Chloe,’ tutted Carole, ‘are you sure you added all that brandy to your mix?’

  Chloe hiccupped, which suggested possibly not.

  ‘Shall we have some John Rutter, Carole?’ Finn hastily suggested. ‘Or would you prefer a bit of Wizzard and Slade?’

  Thankfully that was enough to distract Carole, and I rolled my eyes at Chloe who was looking a little flushed.

  ‘Do you know,’ she said, looking bright-eyed, ‘this is the first time in what feels like forever that I’m thinking I might actually enjoy Christmas?’

  ‘That’s wonderful,’ I told her. ‘And I’m delighted for you, my darling, but if you don’t rescue your pan from the hob, you and Hannah are going to end up buying a cake, rather than eating your own.’

  As promised, I popped back to check on Nell at lunchtime, but I made sure I had something to eat first. I didn’t want a repeat of the day before and the seasonal smells had made me far hungrier than usual. When I got back, the group had been joined by Neil.

  ‘Mark insisted I came over,’ he told me, Chloe and Finn. ‘He says he’s not doing all the cooking this year, so I needed to come and get some pointers. Is it hard?’ he asked, wrinkling his nose as he took in what, to the uninitiated, probably did look quite complicated.

  ‘It’s simplicity itself,’ said Carole brusquely. ‘I’ll squeeze you in somewhere and make sure you have at least one thing to take away with you by the end of the day.’

  Neil looked doubtful, but dutifully followed Carole’s lead and got to work and I helped Finn wash up the cups and mugs ready for the next round of drinks. We even shared a tot of brandy once we’d finished and I felt delighted that our entente cordiale had extended so far into the day. We weren’t out of the woods yet, but it was something of a record that we still hadn’t fallen out, and I hoped it would continue.

  I put the fact that I was beginning to find it easier to forget that he’d talked about me when I wasn’t around, down to the escalation of Christmas spirit, but I hadn’t forgotten that I had been in the wrong too. By quizzing Zak about him, I’d been equally as guilty of the crime I’d accused him of.

  ‘I know I’ve said it before,’ said Chloe when I joined her back at the table, ‘and I daresay, I’ll say it again, but the pair of you really do look good together.’

  She was watching Finn help the formidable Daphne manoeuvre her cake tray, so I was in no doubt who she was talking about.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘you have mentioned it before, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up, Little Miss Matchmaker, because he went out last night, looking and smelling lush, so I’m pretty certain he was on a date.’

  ‘Yes,’ she surprised me by saying, ‘he was.’

  ‘Well, there you go then,’ I sighed, as my spirit sagged deeper than the centre of any of the cakes baked that morning.

  ‘I saw him,’ she carried on, ‘in the pub. He was there until almost closing.’

  There was no need for her to rub it in and, more to the point, if she was still harping on about us being the perfect match, then why was she waxing lyrical about his date?

  ‘And having, what looked to me, like a surprisingly good time.’

  ‘Right,’ I said tightly. ‘Well, good for him.’

  ‘You’ll never guess who he was with,’ she whispered.

  ‘Who?’ I huffed.

  ‘Zak.’

  ‘Zak?’

  ‘Shush,’ she admonished. ‘Yes, Zak.’

  ‘What as in the most annoying half-brother in the world, Zak?’ I asked, just to be absolutely sure.

  ‘That’s the one.’

  ‘Well, I never,’ I smiled, feeling better about life again.

  ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ Chloe finished in a rush, ‘but something is.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘With Zak,’ she hissed. ‘I know you said you don’t really know what he’s like because you haven’t been here all that long, but in the last few days he’s seemed completely different and the fact that he and Finn were drinking together last night…’

  She didn’t get to finish her sentence because Finn was in earshot, but I knew where she was heading. Zak
was being true to his word and I was pleased about that. He was fast becoming a completely reformed character.

  It was dark by the time Carole was ready to send us off, our bags weighed down with impressive puddings and cakes. Even Neil had something to show for his afternoon’s efforts.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ he beamed. ‘I don’t know what Mark makes such a fuss about.’

  In view of his delight, none of us pointed out the carnage he had left behind in the kitchen or the fact that his husband is up in the early hours every day baking our daily bread.

  Finn and I stayed to help Carole tidy up and then chatted with Luke during the day’s debrief. He was delighted with how the weekend had gone, as well he should be. It had been a huge success, although I wasn’t completely convinced that everyone in attendance today was there to stave off the winter blues.

  ‘Right,’ I said, as I gathered my apron and keys. ‘I’d better get back. Nell will be wanting her walk.’

  ‘At this time?’ commented Finn. ‘It’s pitch black out there.’

  He had already made Chloe, who was on her bike, well-lit and wearing both helmet and high-vis, promise to text him when she got home, and now he was furrowing his brow at the thought of me heading out on my own too.

  ‘That’s as maybe,’ I told him, ‘but she still needs her walk.’

  ‘In that case, I’ll come with you,’ he said, not giving me the chance to turn him down. ‘I’ll go and grab my coat from the studio and meet you on the green. It’ll do me good to stretch my legs.’

  It hadn’t got any warmer, but the sky had cleared and I could even pick out the odd star, in spite of the streetlights. There were worse evenings to be out and Nell was delighted to be getting some fresh air. She gave a low growl as Finn approached but stopped when she realised it was him and even wagged her tail when he patted her head. Things were definitely looking up.

  ‘So,’ said Finn, who had now, like me, let his hair down, and pulled on a woolly beanie hat, ‘where are we headed?’